It may have been a happy birthday for Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, but it didn't end so happily for singer and birthday well-wisher JLo. The Latina superstar has come under fire for accepting the gig as Berdymukhamedov is blacklisted by human rights groups for severe violations, the Guardian reported. During Saturday's fesitivites, she sang happy birthday to the president and shouted "Turkmenistan" as she took the stage, singing everyone's favorites.
"It was our pleasure," Lopez said as she prepared to exit the stage. "And we wish you the very happiest birthday."
The president oversees a cult of personality within the oil and natural gas industries. Lopez is one of the most prominent Western pop stars who is known to sing for countries located in the former Soviet Union in exchange for a huge paycheck. She may be the first pop star to perform in Turkmenistan as well. The China National Petroleum Corporation said that it organized her trip to the country for the festivities.
Lopez's publicist released a statement not long after she began to stir up controversy once word of her performance got around. It read that had she known about the human rights violations, she would have declined. She said the CNPC reached out to her about the show and she happily obliged. Lopez has been under fire for similar performances, such as two performances in Russia last year around the time of the Pussy Riot controversy.
"I don't like to talk politics, to be quite honest," she said when questioned about her thoughts on the events occurring in Russia.
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